Flight 319

So as Flight 319 rises into the sky and St. Mary's Class or 2015 leaves Boston behind we take with us a whole new set of memories that we will have to treasure. We enjoyed our last New England meal at the terminal. Crowded around the electronics charging station we nibbled on pizza and sandwiches. As with any other stop we padded the registers at Starbucks for a final Frapaccino and boarded the plane. At the Southwest cattle call we were assigned the last set of seating numbers. The majority of us are in the last 3 rows of the plane and the remainder of us are in middle seats dispersed around the jet.

Although I am writing this in the air I will not post it until we hit the ground. But I wanted you all to know what a privilege it has been to come along on this trip. I know that in several places in this blog I have referred to your children as kids. After spending this time with them I now know that they are really young men and women. You have all done an excellent job raising them and it showed as we left our mark on Boston.
I hope you have enjoyed my writing and have felt that you got to enjoy a slice of this trip for yourselves! It has been my pleasure to bring it to you.

Gerry

Quack Quack

The Duck Tour boards right outside the Science Museum so this is the easiest transfer of the trip. We waited a few minutes and boarded a truck/boat. If you haven't seen a Duck Tour vehicle, it is an amphibious vehicle that dates back to World War II. They seat 36 so we could all cram on one. It is the perfect end of the trip. The driver puts a funny spin on all of the information that we have absorbed throughout the trip. The traffic was terrible and our 70 minute trip took an extra 30 minutes. We didn't care except that I think he shortened our time on the Charles River since we were so late.

We left Bridget at the Science museum. We'll really Guy picked her up from the Duck. They are spending a few days visiting family while we come back home.

It's time to head to the airport so I will type to you in mid air!

Gerry

The Science Museum

The energy level at the Science Museum was a little subdued. When we got there we went right to have lunch in the cafeteria for lunch. When we checked in to the museum we split the group into a few groups led by a couple chaperons each. After lunch we led our groups to tour the exhibits. It was the first true 'purpling' that I saw this week. The Archdiocese has coined this term to mean co-ed. Some pink, some blue.  It is nice to see how well these students have come to interact.

The science exhibits were great since they encouraged participation. At one of the human body exhibits a technician was showing how lungs work by inflating a set of real human lungs. Lauren said something like "ew, gross, I don't want to see that". But I found it fascinating. The highlight of the museum visit was the electric show there. We all rounded up at 2 and watched a scientist create lightning and sounds for 15 minutes. Afterward she let several of the students touch the equipment and watch thier hair stand on end. This is Bridget

Nice hair-do!

Fenway Park

I know that only one of us is a true Red Sox fan, Emmet, but it would be hard not to appreciate the majesty of Fenway  Park. We started at the enormous Red Sox souvenir shop where Bridget, Clare and Eileen debated whether to buy foam fingers. Common sense prevailed. A few did add a shirt or hat to their collection. Drew has been sporting a Boston floppy hat for much of the week. Now Emmet and David E have joined his style.

The tour was cool. Our guide led us atop the Green Monsta (37 feet, 2 inches) for a great view of the field. We wandered around to several sections for equally amazing views. The guide reminded us that greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio have played on this field. I thought it was funny she mentioned 2 Yankees as greats that played on that field! She also mentioned that some day someone might say Derek Jeter played here. I smell a secret NY Yankee fan!

We are back in the bus again. Heading to the Science Museum.  This will be our last official stop on our tour as the Duck Tour we are scheduled for will leave from the parking lot here. It's hard to believe crammed so much into these days.

Gerry

The Kennedy's

Once again, we were complimented on how (Libby says hi) well behaved our students are. This time one of the docents here at the Kennedy Library said that he had never seen a class our age file through the revolving door in such an orderly manner. We'll take it!

We are a little subdued but I think that it put us in a great state of mind to show some reverence for a former President. There are some nice interactive displays there. This is Attorney General Emmet Scanlon Kennedy flanked by his Secret Service agents David E and Dylan:

 We are heading over to see the Green Monsta now. If you don't know what that is you will have to wait to find out.

Gerry

Our Last Night in Boston

After Mass last night Steve drove us over to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert.  We had a great time choosing out hand mixed concoctions and just as much fun eating them. I'm not sure the store was ready for a full on assault by us. But they handled it well. As is often the case, the idle time was left to some sort of competition for the boys. While Fr. Chip and I finished our treats the boys were seeing who could vault over the 4 foot steel driveway pylons. It seems most could manage.  Mike was the most measured but when push came to shove, he made it over easy! I would say that this competition might have been to impress the girls with their superior athleticism but when I looked around there was not a girl in sight watching!

Based on their behavior, Mrs Eisel granted an extra social hour in the lobby last night. Many took advantage but some took the opportunity to get to sleep without noisy roommates to keep them up.

We are off to the JFK Presidential Library. Hopefully we will get some contemporary learning in. I will let you know.

About the Bus

A word about our chariot for these days in Boston.  We have been driven around Boston by Steve and his Peter Pan Bus.  For some reason it says 'Fairy Language' by the door.  Steve is a master negotiating the tight turns and narrow streets.

Inside the bus the negotiating is different.  People have set the seats and I haven't seen much change.  The chaperones have evenly dispursed throughout the bus.  I have taken the last row to oversee the troops. Megan and Charlotte sit right in front of me. I think that I have been featured in many of their selfies as I photobomb as many of the shots as I can.

We took pledge the first day that when Elizabeth speaks, no one else speaks.  As soon as the microphone goes on pretty much everyone listens. Although I have seen a few more earphones sneak on when she keys up the mike. ""

We have a lot of miles to put.in tomorrow so I better hit the rack!